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Anil Kapoor Shares His Joy As Father & Actor And His Differences With Yash Raj Over Release Clash
Anil, I believe you were not at all happy with Yash Raj Films' decision to release their Daawat-e-Ishq?
Daawat-e-Ishq was postponed so many times. Did you try to speak to them?
Yes, I tried my best. I spoke to Adi , tried to dissuade him from releasing the film on the same day as us. I told him ours was a much small film. But he had his own ideas and wouldn't budge. So I said, let it be. Ultimately it's the content that matters. Looking at the response to Khubsoorat I am very very happy .
When do you start shooting for the next season of your serial 24?
In December, right after I finish the last schedule of my film Welcome Back. I finish shooting for Welcome Back at the end of October, I'll take a month's break and start shooting for 24.
Are you happy with the way things are progressing for your children?
I couldn't ask for more. My son has started shooting for his film. My daughter Sonam has been accepted in a big way. My other daughter Rhea is established herself as a good producer. Khubsoorat has made me a very proud father. When I had seen the first cut I knew it was going to work.
It seems you're now planning another film with Disney?
Yes, it's actually a film that we were supposed to do with Disney before Khubsoorat, a remake of Mark Waters' Freaky Friday. It's a fantastic mother-daughter subject which we would have done earlier. But we couldn't get the right casting.
You mean Madhuri Dixit had turned down the mother's role?
Many actresses didn't want to do the role. I couldn't believe it when so many actresses I approached didn't see the thought and vision behind the subject. The time was not right for a subject like that. Now is the time for Freaky Friday. It's a role-reversal mother-daughter film.
Except wife your entire family is in the movie business. Is that a good thought?
I am very happy. Before me and my brother Boney, our father(producer Surinder Kapoor) spent his entire life in the movie business. And now my children and Boney's son are part of the film industry. It's a great feeling. Sonam is now an established actress who has proved she can carry a film on her shoulder. Rhea made Khubsoorat at a basic budget of Rs 12 crores, plus taxes. The scale on which Rhea and director Shashanka Ghosh have made the film make it look much larger than the budget suggests. I am very proud of Khubsoorat. I've not received so much praise in my entire career.
What was the reaction to the film from within the industry?
Everyone including Rekha and Farhan Akhtar loved the film. Vidya Balan was ecstatic about the film. She told me she was looking for faults . But she couldn't find any. She spoke to me for 20 minutes about the film. I asked her jokingly if she was praising the film because her husband was its producer. But she is not the kind to praise something unnecessarily.The positive feedback continues after the film's release.
Have you allowed your acting career to take a backseat for your children's careers?
This has been the case for the past ten years. For a decade now they've been my first priority. I see them as the future of the film industry. For 30 years I did nothing but work work and work. The entire focus of my attention was I me and myself. I've gradually shifted my attention to my children.
During the last one year the only time we saw you on screen was for the television series 24?
I have always been picky about my assignments. Right now I'm doing only two films Anees Bazmi's Welcome Back and Zoya Akhtar's Dil Dhadkne Do. Anees, because I've done many films with him and Zoya for just the opposite reason. I've never worked with her. I've lots of things to say about Zoya which I'll do when the release approaches.
Why the secrecy?
Because it's always preferable to keep a film's publicity as low-key as possible. We didn't release a single picture of Fawad Khan while we shot for Khubsoorat. When I was producing Gandhi My Father I kept the publicity as subdued as possible. It always helps when you open up your project's USPs close to release. Even Sanjay Bhansali did that during the release of Saawariya. When I went to meet Christopher Nolan for Inception he didn't reveal anything about the plot. I am glad Bollywood has also adopted the method.
Anything international?
To be honest, I had 2-3 very tempting offers. But I had to pass them on because of Zoya's film. Now I've let it be known to my agent that I will be available for one international project.But it has to be better and bigger than the three international films I've started done so far. The fourth international film I do would either be a small independent film or a big studio film.
Ram Lakhan is being remade. Do you approve?
Why should I approve or disapprove? It's something behind me. I read somewhere that I was miffed about the remake. I have no opinion on it. What is being done with it is of no concern to me. Whether it Woh7 Din, Eeeshwar, Mr India or any of my acclaimed films, I never look back.
Who do you think should play your role in Ram Lakhan? Your nephew Arjun Kapoor?
Why only Arjun? It can be any of the young energetic actors. Ram Lakhan was not a difficult film to do. Anyone can do it.
Which among your films was the toughest to do?
Nayak. The director Shankar made me run around on bus tops and in the slush almost without clothes. And the thought of a common man becoming the chief minister for a day is vivid to this day.
You are so passionate about your work. Don't you ever feel like slowing down?
No never. I like to be searching for new challenges all the time. That's what makes life worth living.
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